#evil or foolish here is debatable

[avegollum97]

Both Regulus and Severus put a person they deeply cared about into danger and lived to regret it dearly , Reggy gave kreker the one person in his family that he cared about and that loved him unconditionally to Voldemort to experiment with ,and with both u could make the argument that up until that moment the didn't expect Voldemort to be so insane and evil because of how charming the bastard was , and that this was their wake up call, or they knew deep down but choose to ignored it . Kreacker was tortured , and barely survived with his mind (possibly made insane by what happened ), so Reg went for revenge trying to take something of equal value from Voldemort, because the deed was done( and that damn house elf still loved him anyway but he dint notice ) , leaving a message so that Voldemort would know it was him who took it from him . While Severus had to be alive for Lily to remain alive , so he sold his life to dumbledore in exchange . Their fates are very similar that all I'm gonna say . And their actions are a weird mix between love for the person they feel they betrayed and hatred for the man who hurt them .

[ineffablelunatics]

The Good Place and Crowley

A while ago, someone sent an ask to Gaiman. It went as follows, “In the book, ‘Golden Girls’ was Crowley’s favorite TV show. Is that slo TV Crowley’s favorite or does he have a current TV show that he prefers?” He answered, “I think he’d love the ‘The Good Place.’”

The Good Place is one of my favorite shows. I completely understand why Crowley would like it. It has some of the best debates of the philosophy and ethics of modern day society including the afterlife. It argues that people should not be defined as good and bad. It shows that people can improve. It tells us why and how they improve.

There’s two things about Crowley that really connect him to these thoughts. 1. Crowley does not like to be defined as good(or nice). Though we haven’t really seen that include bad, I would assume that it would be the similar thought. It also might have something to do with Aziraphale saying those things specifically, but that’s another post. 2. That people are not defined by what happened to them, and that means that anyone can improve.

Crowley fell from Heaven. He fell from grace which made him demon which means that for all intents and purposes, he should be evil. But he isn’t. Crowley doesn’t ever really commit truly evil acts. Any truly evil act that Hell thinks Crowley committed, humans committed. Crowley just took the credit. Crowley likes the thought that people can change. In Hell, he sees tons of people who are awful, but he also sees people who just made some mistakes. He sees demons who are like him who don’t find joy in treating people terribly. He’s seen angels causing harm happily, but others giving away joy like lollipops.

Those two things are fundamental in the show, The Good Place. I would argue Good Omens as well. If Adam had always been treated like he was evil, he probably would have never had friends who he genuinely cared about so much so that their fear pulled him out of his power drunken state. If Aziraphale had assumed the snake was evil(if he even saw him lol), then smited him, where would Crowley and humanity be? The demon with the imagination burned to ash and humanity living with almost decision-less whilst tucked neatly within Eden’s walls. If people couldn’t improve then Shadwell would have never been able to put aside his fears and foolishness so that he could love Madame Tracy and show it. Gabriel and Beelzebub would still be planning Armageddon 2.0 if they hadn’t moved on and fell in love instead.

The Good Place reminds us of the things time and time again. Each of the four main characters get reset, and every time, in the right circumstances, they always become better people. They are also never really defined as good and bad either. At times, others try to define Eleanor as a bad person, but every time, she reminds them that, yes, maybe, she shouldn’t be in the Good Place, but at the very least, she should be in her very own Middle Place. Every time, Chidi teaches her how to become a better person(which only works, because she wants to be one) and in the process, he becomes one too. Just like Gabriel and Beelzebub.

This was way longer than I expected it to be, but here are some quotes from The Good Place and where I think they would fit into Good Omens whether that be place and time or people and relationships.

“Sometimes, when you’re feeling helpless, the secret is to help someone else. Get out of your own head. Trust me. The next time someone asks for help, say yes.” This feels like the whole of S2, specially Aziraphale with Jim and then Maggie

“If you have bills to pay and shit to deal with you don;t have time or energy to become a better person.”  The Resurrectionists in 1827 with Elspeth and Wee Morag

“If there were an answer I could give you to how the universe works, it wouldn’t;t be special. It would just be machinery fulfilling its cosmic design. It would just be a big, dumb food processor. But since nothing seems to make sense, when find something or someone that does, it’s euphoria.” All the couples in GO, but that quote right there seems to be how Crowley and Aziraphale has been holding on for so long

“I guess all I can do is embrace the pandemonium find happiness in the unique insanity of being here, now.” Nina specially during The Ball

“People improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don’t?” Beelzebub and Gabriel

“We have no plan. No one’s coming to save us. So... I’m going to do it.” Aziraphale(specifically him at the end of S2 in my opinion)but also just everybody in S1 with Anathema, Agnus, the Them, Aziraphale and Crowley, just all trying their best

“If soulmates do exist, they’re not found. They’re made. People meet. They get a good feeling, and they get to work building a relationship.” All the couples, but especially Aziraphale and Crowley with the Agreement, they were working on their relationship before they knew they were even working on their relationship

“What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is if people are trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” Crowley, because deep down, at the end of the line, we know that he’s an optimist

*reminder that all of this is my opinion, if there’s anymore quotes you would like to add, please do, some of the information might be incorrect

[mswyrr]

lucy gray baird's philosophy

I want to "yes, and" this great meta post by @burst-of-iridescent​. Specifically this part:

by the end of the book, coriolanus gives in fully to dr gaul’s way of thinking simply because it excuses him from accepting blame for his actions. if he killed sejanus, it’s because he had no choice. if he betrayed lucy gray, it’s because she would’ve betrayed him first. coriolanus refuses to believe in the goodness of humanity because that would have meant accepting the goodness that existed within him, and with that came the potential for making a different, better choice - potential that he knew, deep down, he had wasted. attributing his crimes to an innate evil that no one can overcome means that he can’t be held accountable, because it’s out of his control.

This got me thinking about how much Lucy Gray's worldview rejects of this way of thinking (and of a Calvinist*/ableist "some people are just born evil" pov people try to impose on the text, which people think is condemning him but actually... accidentally agrees with him that he was born evil and therefore can't help it??????). The book begins with several quotes chosen by the author, but I believe the one that represents Lucy Gray's worldview is Rousseau, who believed people were born with fundamental goodness.

Here's a source on him:

(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

And here's the quote Collins opens with:

“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, 1762

That's Lucy Gray's pov she's come to through living and reflecting as an artist; someone can disagree with it (of course, all of these questions are open for endless debate; they have been debated endlessly!) however, it's important to respect that is where she's coming from, not being foolish or naive. It is a worthy pov that should be respected, even if you disagree. And that she came to this pov through a hard life and from much thinking and she expresses it beautifully in her art.

Here's the key exchange from the book, after Coriolanus has taken on the idea that people are just awful and her articulating her philosophy in response:

(Ballad, 495)

She's not naive. She recognizes the nuance that Rousseau does, that society shapes us. And Panem is pretty clearly a society led by people applying all the pressures they can think of on people toward evil. (And, after his heel turn, Coriolanus' is going to innovate some new pressures...) Clearly there are situations and circumstances that form us before we have much say in it, but that's not the same as being born evil.

The difference between inherent goodness and a corrupt society is, for Lucy Gray, a lot of hard work. It's a struggle. This repudiates both the version of "born evil" Coriolanus himself takes on, which relieves him of responsibility, and the self-righteous, Calvinist and/or ableist pov people keep arguing for, which makes "normal" people feel like they can be sure they're good (and ignore how we are all complicit in evil to some degree or another) because they have a "good" normal brain or they were just born so pure as a soul predestined for heaven. No, for her, everyone has to do the work. To her it's everyone's "life's challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line."

Even more pointedly, the love song she wrote him before his betrayal, "Pure as the Driven Snow," articulates her philosophy in the opening lines:

(Ballad, 481)

Again, we have her personal focus on the work of "staying on the right side" of good and evil after being born good into evil circumstances. She knows it hurts; she's led a hard life herself. "It's rough as a bair" to do that work, it's "like walkin' through fire." But it is doable.

Lucy Gray meant it as a love song but IMO "Pure as the Driven Snow" ends up a lament for the boy Coriolanus was and her love that he betrayed when he betrayed himself. And it is a direct rejection of his excuses, it is inadvertently reading him for filth for the lies he tells himself that all the world is the Games arena, all people are selfish and bad, and he isn't to blame for what he's done because he just wants to come out on top/be the victor of this "natural" "war of all against all" that is Gaul's philosophy (related to the Hobbes quote Collins begins with; I wrote a meta on that here) that he adopts.

I see her demeaned as a foolish girl who just "like bad boys" and I get so frustrated. I also get frustrated by the view that she must not have ever been sincere in loving or trusting him because IF SHE WAS then she would be a fool and his betrayal would somehow be her fault. And she'd reject the idea that she's "good" just because she's so pure or that anyone can claim we're good without doing a lot of hard work.

(Ballad, 482)

She is so thoughtful and interesting as a character. And she didn't just "like bad boys" - Coriolanus showed only his good side to her until the very end, once he'd decided to kill that part of himself. She had no way of knowing. Sometimes you trust someone and they betray you, it doesn't make you wrong, the shame is all theirs.

*Strict Calvinist predestination is some people are just predetermined to be bound for heaven and some for hell, some people are just born good and others are born bad. A lot of people in fandom seem to love Calvinism idk why. The ableism bit of this should be self-evident: there is no such thing as a "bad" brain type completely incapable of morality or a "good" brain and neurodivergence is not the source of all evil!

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

Role Swap Chapter 2

Part 1

For @moxiety-week 2022 lmao

Word count: 1057

Rating: Gen

Pairings: platonic Virgil&Everyone (except Janus), particularly platonic Moxiety

Warnings: anxiety, coming out, unsympathetic Janus (as perceived by Virgil. He’s really just trying to help by positioning himself as the antagonist)

~~~START~~~

Virgil waited until Thomas started filming his next video to reveal his identity change — the longer he waited, the more anxious he got, but outing Deceit in front of everyone would be worth it.

Even if Thomas, Logan, and Roman hated him afterwards, it would be worth it.

He used the days between opening the closet and Thomas’s next video to get used to his room and explore his true style. As Ethan, he’d had a preppier style, but all his Ethan clothes were gone from his room, replaced by ripped black jeans and band shirts. Virgil was an emo, and when he looked at himself in the mirror, it felt right.

On the day of filming, Deceit popped up to take his place almost immediately as the others began their debate. Patton was there too, but he didn’t interject much other than to make the odd pun — he was there to support Virgil, whatever the others were trying to talk about would be forgotten soon enough.

Virgil waited until Deceit was in the middle of a monologue (he’d slowly been changing the character of Ethan to fit himself more) before popping up behind him. Thomas, Logan, and Roman all must have seen him, but he spoke before they were able to give his presence away.

“Get out of my spot!” He yelled into Deceit’s ear, smirking when the other Side jumped.

The scare startled Deceit out of his disguise, and when he whipped around to hiss at Virgil, it was a forked tongue that slipped out.

“Ssscheming sssneak!” Deceit hissed.

“Takes one to know one,” Virgil growled.

“What the heckity heck, three abs and one peck?” Roman yelled, looking between the two Sides, dumbfounded.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Ethan?” Thomas demanded, choosing to ignore Roman’s absurd outburst for the time being.

Deceit started evil laughing — like a cartoon character or something. Did he practice that in the mirror? “You foolish dummy,” he chuckled. “I am, and always have been, Ethan!”

“What!?” Thomas screeched.

“No,” Virgil grouched, snagging Deceit’s hat from him and tossing it across the room to Patton.

“Hey! That isn’t mine, and I don’t want it back!”

“Ah,” Logan said as the truth dawned on him. “This is obviously De-mphf.”

Deceit brought a hand up and Logan’s hand flew to his mouth, cutting himself off.

“Oooooh,” Roman gasped. “I get it now. Well, I get him,” he gestured at Deceit. “But I still don’t get Emo Nightmare over there.”

Virgil took a steadying breath. Across the room, Patton — wearing Deceit’s hat — gave him a double thumbs up.

“I’m here to tell the truth,” he said, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with Thomas. “Because as scary as the truth is, refusing to face it is hurting you, and avoiding it is just giving him more and more power.

“Ethan isn’t real, and he never has been. My name is Virgil, and while I was Caution when you were younger, I represent your anxiety now.” And then, because no one was saying anything and he was getting anxious about it, he awkwardly added “surprise.”

Thomas and Roman continued to say nothing and just stare at him shocked (Logan’s hand was still clamped over his mouth, but he looked shocked as well), then a slow sarcastic clap started.

“Oh bravo, Anxiety, bravo,” Deceit said sardonically. “You’re so mature now. Honestly, I thought you were just going to hide in your room like the scaredy cat you are.”

“Hey now!” Thomas cut in. “We do not insult each other here Mr.… Snake… Face… Guy… Honestly, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Deceit smirked. “You won’t be seeing me again.”

And with that, he sunk out. Virgil almost let out a breath of relief, but then Deceit popped up next to Patton.

“Give me that!” He hissed, snatching the hat from Patton’s head and sinking out again.

Once he was gone, Logan’s hand was freed.

“Well,” Logan said, adjusting his tie brusquely. “He is just as unpleasant as I remember.”

“Who even was that!?” Thomas asked.

“Uh, maybe we can focus on that later, kiddo?” Patton said. When Thomas confusedly stared at him, he nodded pointedly to where Virgil was building himself up to a panic.

“Oh. Oh!” He gasped, turning to Virgil with a warm smile. “Virgil– Anxiety– Virgil, hey, I know that coming out can be hard, and I just want to say that I’m really proud of you.”

“R-really? You don’t… hate me, or something?” Virgil asked hesitantly.

“Of course not,” Thomas smiled. “None of us do, right guys?” He asked the others pointedly.

That seemed to shake Roman out of his shock. “Never! You are our Dark and Stormy Knight, and we would be lost without you!”

“Logan?”

Logan blinked, having been seemingly lost in deep thought.

“Virgil,” he started slowly. “If anything I have ever said or done has ever made you think that you could not tell us about your change in function…”

“It’s okay, Lo,” Virgil told him. “It was a lot of things.”

“But if I contributed–”

“I forgive you.”

Logan blinked. “Thank you, Virgil, I am sure that that is far more than I deserve.”

“I’m so proud of you, kiddo!” Patton burst out suddenly, startling Virgil and the others.

“Thanks, Pat. Seriously, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I believe I owe you an apology as well, Patton,” Logan said slowly, clearly weighing his every word before he said them. “I have been treating you like an enemy when all you want — all you’ve ever wanted — is to help Thomas.” Logan paused for a moment, studying Virgil with a sad sort of look in his eye that Virgil wanted to banish immediately. “And you’ve done a much better job at that than I have recently. I am truly sorry.”

“Aww, apol-Logan-gy accepted, kiddo!”

“I take it back,” Logan said quickly, his sad look replaced by a put-upon look of annoyance that Virgil could tell was a mask for long suffering amusement.

“Too late!” Patton, Thomas, and Roman all chorused together. Virgil smiled to himself as Logan sputtered.

“Well,” Thomas said, looking at his four Sides proudly. “This isn’t where I expected today to go, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m really proud of you guys.”

~~~END~~~

I know it wouldn't actually happen, but I imagine Janus's hat slipping down Patton's face like it's too big for him

I had most of this written for over a year, but I just couldn’t finish it. I’ve been wanting to finish one of my unfinished fics, so I chose the one with the least amount of work needed

General taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling

[the-missann]

Recently, I've seen a lot of debate about what makes a good villain and I just wanted to add my two cents so we can pay for this chip bag together.

Bad guys, villains, antags, whatever you call them are very interesting individuals. It doesn't even have to be a person, it can simply be an ideal that makes something negative for your main characters.

In this specific case, I was seeing a lot of people dislike the villain with the sympathetic background. I totally see where this is coming from so here's my take.

Most people don't feel like they can create a bad person without giving them a moral justification for what they're doing. I would assume this comes from the fact that most people irl don't do bad things for no reason.

Revenge

Sorrow

Rage

Are usually the things people in the backstories of villains.

Tell me you haven't heard one of these before:

I was married before this, but they took them away from me, now I have nothing to live for and nothing to care about.

When I was younger, everyone used to make fun of me, bully me into submission, and do whatever they wanted. Now that I'm stronger, I'll do to them what they did to me.

I swore revenge to those who crossed me. No one believed I could do anything, and now my goals are right in front of me.

These are normal human emotions taken to 11 and are stereotypical reasons why antags do what they do. They're not bad as everyone has love for the sympathetic villain or the misunderstood bad guy, but reasonably it's been over used to hell and any attempt to make the opposite is a one-dimensional mess.

Here's the thing though. The mindless villains who are evil for the sake if being evil are confusing to most people.

People try and come up with a backstory when there isn't one for a villain who just wants to smash some heads. Creators are almost forced to make a backstory because "there has to be something.

When, in reality, they're just a bad person.

A good way to avoid all of these cliches is to use real human emotions to your advantage. I happen to like true crime and have seen a lot of people who are worse than the scum in the drain of your toilet, but yet finding out they just "took pleasure" in their crimes is much better than them saying they're the way they are because of bullying, abuse, or trauma. Which is often used as an excuse rather than an actual reason.

Not to say these can't be valid reasons for someone's behavior, but sometimes people are just evil. Not every killer had an abusive dad or a vicious mom. Sometimes their life can be the most normal sitcom thing ever and they still turn out to be a rotten apple.

Now, in order to end this, I say we need to see more if every kind of villain. The sympathetic one, the mindlessly evil, the tactical bad guy, the power hungry one that everyone loves, and the one who everyone loves to hate.

Here's some "advice" about writing/creating a non sympathetic villain though. Don't think you have to make a reason, but if you want to give them a reason make it more related to their personality and not their upbringing.

For example, a villain I know nothing about seems to have the plot that he doesn't like the group he's apart of; so, people took that as the creators making him sympathetic. Most likely though, he probably just doesn't like the way in which those around him act. How foolish they act with the power they have. He wants the same thing they do, but not in the way they choose to go about getting it. This seems to just be the way he is regardless of if he was a bad or good guy. (I'll see if I'm even a little bit close when I finally see the game for myself).

This guy who I didn't even know existed until about an hour ago is what spawned this post. So use this as you will and thanks for reading~

[adrianasunderworld]

More Isabelle in the Magical Girl au

--

The Maidens Library is where the Spell book of Winifred Sanderson is. Elena has long been a studier of witchcraft and dark magic, and one of her areas of expertise is the Sanderson Coven. She wants the book for herself to further her magic. Through her connections and extensive research, Elena has known for years one of the previous Maidens (the Maidens being another area of research for her) had taken the book and stored it in the library to keep it out of the hands of evil. Elena wasn't sure she would ever see that book until she saw that mystical gem hanging from her daughters wrist.

Isabelle became fixated on the book. She stared at it in the glass case, tapping it gently, coaxing it to open its singular eye for her. Something about it called to the girl. Maybe it was pride thinking she could handle using it, maybe it was some demonic call, maybe after her current heartbreak she wanted some distraction, she wasn't sure, but Isabelle against her better judgement took it out of its case. So long as it never left the library it should be fine to study. After all, nothing could go in or out so long she allowed it. But the book after all, had a mind of its own and had slipped itself into her bag one day before she left. Isabelle was shocked to see it as she unpacked it from the bag. She debated telling her mom, after all she was an expert. But something in the back of her mind told her to keep it secret. So Isabelle kept the Sanderson book to herself and studied it, practiced her witchcraft.

On Halloween night, Elena has Isabelle go with her to perform a ritual. They were witches, this wasn't the first time, so Isabelle did not think much of it. Elena drew the circle in the dirt and placed an assortment of seemingly random candles and instructed her daughter to light them. Isabelle did as she was told. Halfway through her task, one flame turned black once lit. A sound like thunder echoed through the forest and there they stood. Three women in old fashioned clothing, cackling that they were back.

Isabelle felt her stomach drop. She had heard the story about the Sandersons and Winifreds last spell all her life and she had let it come to pass.

"Mom, stand back!" Isabelle was about to transform when she realized her bracelet was gone. "Huh?"That's when she saw it dangling from Elena hand. "Mom, give that back!"

"This is far too dangerous for someone so inexperienced. Don't worry, it's safe with me."

"Winnie..." The black haired sister said. "I smell a child." All three looked at Isabelle in the circle and lunged for her. She backed away quickly outside it as the Sandersons entered it. Only for them to scream.

"Oh infernal forces," Elena said. "Bind them for I am Master now."

"A clever trick," Winifred said as she was clearly fuming, "But a foolish one. You-"

"Silence." Elena commanded. And some invisible force made her quiet. Isabelle stood there in horror as her mother grinned. "Save your breath Winifred Sanderson. I know all your tricks. And I'm in control now. You can't have that one.".

"Mom, what's going on?"

Elena finally looked at her daughter, "I'm going to become the greatest witch, that's what. We're going to lead the strongest coven that ever existed."

"But- my bracelet! You're not meant to have it. I'm the chosen maide, not you. You can't just take-!"

"I can and I have. Oh don't look at me like that. You're far too inexperienced and weak to fully comprehend what you have here. Maybe one day you can have it back when you're older."

"No!" Isabelle ran and tried to snatch it away from her mother's grasp only for a gust of wind to push her away and into the dirt on her butt.

"Now I only need to find the book-" Elena noticed Winifred eyeing Isabelles bag on the ground. "Call for it."

The magic holding Winifred mouth shut set her free and with no other choice than to obey, she did. "Book! Come to me."

Isabelle watched in horror as the bag lifted off the ground and fell into the dirt as the spell book flew out of it and floated towards Winifred. She tried in vain to get up, but her mother's magic forced her to stay seated. Elena grabbed it in the air before it could reach it's true owner. She flipped through it with a grin.

"Well well. Seems you've been holding out on me. And you insist we aren't alike at all."

"We aren't! I was only-"

"Studying it?" Elena interrupted. "This book has been safely hidden away for centuries until you took it out."

" I just wanted to learn. To get better."

"And how is that any different from how I started?" Elena replied. "You want to act holier than thou, but youre no better than I am or them" she gestures to the Sandersons who were still huddled together in the circle watching this whole exchange. Isabelle glared at her mother, who did not seem bothered. "You can sit there and be mad at me all you want. But when I establish this coven, and you can have all the knowledge and power you want, you'll thank me. You may not see it now, but this is better for both us."

Isabelle could hear the sound of footsteps and yelling. She recognized the sound of Drew and Seiths voices calling for her. But she was still frozen in place, unable to run to them. She couldn't find it in herself to yell for them.

"Ah, good timing." Elena said as she looked to where they broke through the trees. "Sandersons. My daughter is off limits. But those two are fair game. Have at it."

Drew and Seith are @mangacupcake

@writing-heiress @marrondrawsalot @the-weirdos-mind

[homoantagonism]

John as Card 1: The Magician

The Magician (also known as The Wizard, which G1deon literally calls John pre-res) is generally understood as a reflection of the Hermetic concept: as above, so below. This phrase can take on a lot of interpretations depending on the theological contexts, but because we’re talking about a man who just reinvented Gay Space Catholicism, I’ll only be addressing debatably the most famous renditions of this phrase, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven''. This phrase from the Lord’s Prayer is used by Christians as a means to invoke God's will on Earth, which seems fitting for a Catholic space emperor with the desire to create a universe he can bend to his will.

The Magician also signifies the creative process and the act of taking a concept or idea and molding it into something tangible. Again, pretty obviously a God thing.

Now here’s where things start to get more interesting (and potentially plot relevant? tbd). The Magician shows a potential for arrogance, feelings of superiority, a tendency to abandon projects after they’re started, and loss of focus on an idea’s original intent when sustained for too long (like, potentially, a myriad). I think the fucker is going to blow up the universe and start fresh. Great Flood 2.0. I’ve suspected this since reading all of the John chapters in NtN, which, imo, read like an epilogue to the series as a whole, or at least a sympathetic villain monologue before the villain does something monumentally evil, and his connection to The Magician would further solidify this.

Another juicy tidbit is that The Magician in reverse represents deceit. It can symbolize someone who is charming and charismatic, yet states things that don’t add up. This card showing up in a reading can mean that someone in your life who presents themselves as knowledgeable and trustworthy is covertly manipulating you. It would take another full series reread for me to be able to list all the things John lies about, but the most notable is his deception of the resurrection gang.

He paints himself as a “just some guy” god (and to his credit, he is Just Some Guy) but he absolutely uses that boy-next-door exterior to lie to and extort all his closest friends. He lies to them about their names. He hides the truth about lyctorhood from them. He leaves them to figure out lyctorhood by themselves and allows them to sacrifice the people closest to them so that they can be his immortal hand. I’m sure Mercymorn, Augustine, and G1deon figuring this out and plotting to betray him is just the beginning of the retribution he’ll suffer for this.

Alecto/Nona as Card 0: The Fool

(Full disclosure, I’m not exactly the resident Alecto expert so there’s probably a lot of things I’m forgetting or missing but just bare with me here.)

The fool represents new beginnings, having blind faith in the future, being inexperienced, and having a fundamental belief in the universe. In reverse, it represents being foolish, reckless, naive, gullible, air-headed, and several other traits that more or less describe Nona. The figure on the card has his arms flung wide, and his head held high (is this not exactly the Nona cover art?). He is ready to embrace whatever comes his way, but he is also oblivious to the cliff edge he is about to cross. The Fool is unaware of the hardships he will face as he ventures out to learn the lessons of the world. The parallels to Nona’s journey are obvious, but I’d imagine Alecto went through a similar journey from her creation to her imprisonment.

Ultimately we don’t know much about her in the earliest days, but it only makes sense that she had Nona’s personality prior to going crazy. She was also the first to have blind faith in John and the universe he crafted, and for that, she suffered immensely.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Her Eyes (Short Story)

Miscarriage TW! -Umbranoxs

——-

Rain crashed against the roof of the medicine den, Swirltail laying on a moss nest covered in rips that she had caused from her anxiety. She came into the den a couple hours ago, not feeling well, and next thing she knew? Kits. Cottoncatcher told her she needed to stay there for the night. She kneaded her claws into the moss again, listening to the roar of distant thunder as she faded in and out of being awake, struggling to really pay attention to anything around her. Was it supposed to be like this?

Next thing she knew, she awoke to mewling and Cottoncatcher, who’s expression made her heart drop. He glanced downwards, and exhaled softly; Speaking the words she prayed she never had to hear.“I’m sorry.. I tried all I could, but.. Only one made it.”

She glanced down, feeling her throat tighten and her body tremor with tears that struggled to fall. Two bodies were still, one squirming and mewling as they snuggled next to her- Their pelt as dark as the stormy sky above. “..May I.. At least name them before they’re buried?” She meowed weakly, voice trembling as she struggled not to sob. “Of course.” Cottoncatcher’s smooth, silver pelt blocked out the light, shadowing over her kits- She gently moved the two stillborns into the sunlight, whispering name ideas softly- Occasionally she’d see Cottoncatcher nod in approval of a name, his bronze eyes littered with mixed emotions; Sympathy, pity? She couldn’t tell nor could she care.

Eventually, the two kits- she settled on the names Dustkit and Joykit for them, -were taken out of the den for burial, and finally she felt herself break. Quiet yet echoing around the den, her sobs filled her ears as she cradled her little survivor in her paws. She forced a small smile at the similarities between them and her friends and family, debating names. So many ideas swirled in her mind- She considered Coalkit after one of her lost friends, but shook her head as she remembered how foolish they all were as apprentices- And his mother was still alive in the elder’s den, it’d be cruel to her to name a kit that looked like him with such a name. Perhaps Nightkit? Was that too basic?

She debated between names for the rest of the day, and through the night. Nobody ever told her naming a single kit would be this tough!Despite this she sighed contently, looking back at her little kit. They were peacefully sleeping next to her, and she finally decided on a name for them; She’d likely discuss it with her clanmates later, to get their opinion. Even if their father couldn’t help her decide, it takes a clan to raise a kit- At least, that’s what she learnt. As she closed her eyes to rest, something in her head prompted her to look at her kit.

And as she turned, her heart dropped again and she froze as a sudden shock hit her, desperately avoiding the instinct to yelp in fear. Their eyes were open, full of curiosity- At least, as open as they could make them, and they were a bright yellow that gleamed in the darkness of the nursery.

The kit had Lunarpaw’s eyes.

————————–

This wasn’t that fun for me to write but here, Swirltail being tormented by the horrors! (I haven’t decided a name for the kit lol)

=======================================

--CLIFFHANGER CLIFFHANGER CLIFFHANGER CLIFFHANGER

--OHMYGODWHATISSHEGONNANAMEHER 

Something bad? Something good, hoping it will ward off ‘evil?’

What if she gave the kit a normal name around others but bad names when they’re alone?

[demenior]

working on some Fjord backstory stuff that I’m still trying to finish before the Fjord origins comic drops and, well, here’s some street-urchin teenaged Fjord during his first night(s) on the Tide’s Breath, ft a Captain “I’ve only just recently decided not to be totally evil” Vandran:

Fjord pokes his head above deck and squints to orient himself. He’s pretty sure he’s not supposed to wander, and he doesn’t know the Captain’s standards for punishment yet. Best not to get caught.

It’s dark. There are a few lanterns lit, throwing off a faint enough glow to make out the limits of the deck. Fjord has heard the phrase ‘black as night’ before, and only now does he understand what it truly means. The masts disappear into the dark sky, even the stern and bow of the Tide’s Breath are lost to darkness. It’s like they’ve been swallowed by a void that’s only held at bay by the tiny spots of flame in the lanterns. 

Something like a lump, settles in Fjord’s throat. He’s been made to feel small and insignificant his entire life. This is the first time he’s wondrously small because the world is so vast. 

He wants to know what lays beyond the light. What’s out there, in the dark?

Boots come to a stop beside him. Fjord drags his eyes away from the creeping void, up into Captain Vandran’s face. 

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” the captain drawls. He’s got a hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

Fjord debates wordlessly slinking back to his hammock. Eyes that sword again. It’s not like Port Damali, where he can lay low to avoid attention. On a ship there’s nowhere to run. 

“I thought we were going to sink,” Fjord admits. His voice is as small as he feels. Not for the first time his face flushes in shame. 

Captain Vandran frowns at him. He seems like the kind of man who frowns a lot, with how natural the look sits on his face. It’s used to this kind of expression. 

“It’s a calm night,” Captain Vandran finally says, “we’re due for good weather this trip. Don’t you worry, son.” 

Fjord moves slowly, crawling up onto the deck. If you stood still at the Driftwood, especially if someone’s eyes were on you, then you became a target. He’s aware of how easily Vandran could kick him in the face, and he wants to change that. 

“How can you tell?” Fjord asks. 

“You spend long enough at sea, you learn to read the signs,” Vandran explains, “you’re from the port, you should know.” 

“Well I don’t,” Fjord snaps. Realizes his mistake. Bites his tongue. It’s too late. 

Fjord stammers out an excuse, “They don’t like it when you can read. If you can read, you can learn things. And if you can learn, then you have info you can sell.” 

Vandran stays quiet after Fjord finishes talking. Should Fjord have admitted to being illiterate? It might decrease Fjord’s potential in Vandran’s eyes, and change the man’s mind about letting him and Sabian stay on. 

“Words are important, but I was talking about the weather. Anyone can read that,” Vandran says. Fjord flinches. He revealed too much. He always talks too much. 

“Sorry,” Fjord mumbles.

“A sailor should know the difference between a good night and a coming storm,” Vandran says, and gestures for Fjord to follow him, “you feel that warm air? It’s good to have a warm night. If you notice that it gets cold real fast, well, then you’re in for some rough weather.”

Vandran takes Fjord to the edge of the deck, and out of the path of the night watch. Fjord holds out a hand like he’s catching the air in his palm. Warm is good? A shift is bad? That seems easy enough. 

The waves roll against the ship below. If he squints he can see the way the light glints off of the surface of the water. It’s as dark as the night sky, and maybe more mysterious. Seeing the gentle roll of the waves, compared to the noises he was hearing down below deck, Fjord feels foolish for thinking they were in danger. 

He can’t imagine how scary it would be to sail in truly dangerous weather.

[gods-little-words]

Answer!

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. 

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. 

        Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. 

Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 

Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 

 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?   Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 

  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

[dfroza]

“Think about what I am telling you, and let the Lord give you clarity on all of it.”

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 2nd chapter of the letter of 2nd Timothy:

But as for you, my child, be empowered by the grace that is in Jesus, the Anointed One. Whatever you heard me teach before an audience of witnesses, I want you to pass along to trustworthy people who have the ability to teach others too. As a good soldier of Jesus the Anointed, be ready to suffer with me. Remember that soldiers on active duty don’t get wrapped up in civilian matters because they want to satisfy those who recruited them. Look at it another way: if someone competes as an athlete, he won’t win the race and be crowned with the wreath if he breaks the rules. And the farmer who exhausts himself in the field should be the first to taste his harvest. Think about what I am telling you, and let the Lord give you clarity on all of it.

Remember Jesus the Anointed, raised from the dead, descended from David’s royal line. This is the crux of my good news! This is why I suffer and why I am bound and chained like a lawbreaker. But God’s word is not in chains! That’s why I endure everything for the sake of God’s chosen: so that they might experience salvation with lasting, eternal glory through Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. Here’s a statement you can trust:

If we died with Him,

we will live with Him.

If we remain with Him,

we will reign alongside Him.

If we deny Him,

we will be denied by Him.

If we are unfaithful,

He remains faithful,

For He is not able to deny Himself.

Remind others about these things that I’m telling you. Warn them before God to stop their useless bickering over words. After all, splitting hairs does no good; it only ruins those forced to listen to their meritless arguments. Timothy, do everything you can to present yourself to God as a man who is fully genuine, a worker unashamed of your mission, a guide capable of leading others along the correct path defined by the word of truth. Stay away from ungodly babbling because it will only lead deeper into a godless lifestyle. Once these empty voices start to speak, Timothy, they infect and spread; and soon the body is consumed with its cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus fell victim to it, and they walked away from the truth by claiming that the day of resurrection has already arrived. They are clearly disrupting the faith of some who are not well grounded. Regardless of what they do or say, God’s foundation is strong and firmly in place, etched with this seal: “The Lord knows the ones who belong to Him,” and, “Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord ought to stop doing what they know to be wrong.”

Look, in the mansions of the rich and powerful you will find everything from silver and gold serving bowls to wooden containers and clay jars; some are used for special occasions—where honor is important—others are used for more mundane tasks. So tell them, if they will clean up their lives and purify themselves from dishonorable teachings that lead people astray, then they can become honorable vessels, consecrated and useful to the Master, made ready for every good work He has in store.

Timothy, run away from youthful desires. Instead, direct your passion to chasing after righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts. Excuse yourself from any conversations that turn into foolish and uninformed debates because you know they only provoke fights. As the Lord’s slave, you shouldn’t exhaust yourself in bickering; instead, be gentle—no matter who you are dealing with—ready and able to teach, tolerant without resentment, gently instructing those who stand up against you. Besides, the time may come when God grants them a change of heart so that they can arrive at the full knowledge of truth. And if they come to their senses, they can escape the devil’s snare and walk freed from his captivity and evil bidding.

The Letter of 2nd Timothy, Chapter 2 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 9th chapter of the book of Ezekiel:

Then I heard Him exclaim a judgment on the people of Jerusalem.

Eternal One: Heavenly executioners, approach the city! Have your weapons in hand!

I then saw six men marching from the direction of the upper gate which faces north. Each of them had a deadly weapon in hand. Another man accompanied God’s executioners. He was clothed in linen and carried a writing kit at his side. All of them entered and stood next to the bronze altar.

The glory of the God of Israel rose up from the winged guardian where it had rested and moved to the doorway of the temple. Then the Eternal called to the man who was dressed in linen—the one carrying the writing kit at his side.

Eternal One: Go through this city, yes Jerusalem, and put a mark on the forehead of all those who are grieved by the shocking things going on in the city.

I listened as He addressed the other six, the heavenly executioners.

Eternal One: Follow this man through the city, and kill. Don’t shed a single tear of compassion. Obliterate the old people, young people, even women and children. Slaughter them all! But don’t lay a finger on anyone with the mark on his forehead. Begin at My sanctuary.

So the executioners started by killing the elders in front of the sanctuary.

Eternal One: Defile the sanctuary: fill the courts with the bodies of the slain! Go!

So they continued their slaughter in the city. While they went out to kill the people, I was left alone. I fell down and buried my face in the ground. I cried out to God.

Ezekiel: O Eternal Lord! Do You intend to wipe out everyone left in Israel the way You unleashed Your anger on Jerusalem?

Eternal One: The sins committed by the people of Israel and Judah are very great and serious indeed. The land is saturated with blood. The city has perverted justice. They all say, “The Eternal has abandoned the land to our Babylonian conquerors and their gods, so He doesn’t see anything.” Therefore, I will not spare them or shed tears of compassion. I will set their deeds on their heads. They have done this to themselves.

Right then, the man clothed in linen and carrying the writing kit at his side returned and said, “I have done as You commanded.”

The Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 9 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

The elders who come to Ezekiel to hear this vision must be confused. Jerusalem, they think, has already suffered enough. Surely it will not suffer more. But that is wishful thinking, not the prophet’s message. The subjugation of Judah to Babylon takes place over about 20 years. The Babylonians first assaulted Jerusalem in 605 b.c. and took some of the chief citizens into exile. Then in 597 b.c., Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem for 3 months, captured the city, looted the temple and palace, and deported many of the most prominent people to Babylon. The current exiles can hardly imagine anything worse, but it will happen. In 586 b.c., Nebuchadnezzar will return to Jerusalem, and this time he will leave nothing but ashes. After a grueling 18-month siege, Nebuchadnezzar will break through Jerusalem’s wall and level it, take whatever riches he desires, burn every building (including God’s temple) to the ground, and deport what few people survive the battle. This final battle and conquest will decimate God’s home; it will leave Jerusalem in ruins. There will be no place left for the exiles to return.

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Sunday, november 5 of 2023 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about truth in the inward parts:

It is written in our Scriptures: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (כִּי כְּמוֹ־שָׁעַר בְּנַפְשׁוֹ כֶּן־הוּא). We often see what we want to see more than what is really there. That’s called wishful thinking. We overlook much, and we often ignore what might challenge our own preferred interpretations. For example, we may think that we are trusting God for our lives, but we worry, we attempt to control others, we get angry, and so on. We have a blind spot regarding the question whether we really trust God, perhaps because seriously investigating what we really believe seems too threatening (John 16:31-32). After all, what if we don't really know what to believe? What if we struggle to believe? What if we are confused? What does that say about who we are? So we ignore the real problem (namely, our lack of truth and our little faith in God) and continue to think we are something we are not. We fool ourselves and trade a sense of “satisfaction” at the expense of truth. This is a common failing of human nature. During the Nazi years, many ordinary Germans refused to investigate reports of atrocities at the death camps because it was too costly to discover the truth (the same might be said about various “community activists” who rationalize their actions regardless of the moral issues involved). By willfully hiding from the facts, people pretend they are not responsible, and therefore they readily justify passivity in the face of injustice and evil.

Yeshua warned that the time would come when those who kill others will delude themselves into thinking they are doing God a favor (John 16:2). Think of how massively self-deceived such a thing is as that -- to murder someone as a so-called service to God! Many of the biggest enemies of the truth are often those who think they are doing God such favors.

Often, however, the truth “of the inward being” must come at the expense of heartache, for surely the heart must ache, tremble, and despair before it comes to accept the truth about its condition. This sort of truth is "existential," meaning that it is known only through the process of living life itself. As Kierkegaard said, “There are many people who reach their conclusions about life like schoolboys: they cheat their master by copying the answer out of a book without having worked the sum out for themselves.” Yes, and they cheat themselves, too, since they somehow believe that “knowing the answer” given by another is the same thing as “knowing the answer” of their own inward being... Kierkegaard continues this thought: "The truth is lived before it is understood. It must be fought for, tested, and appropriated. Truth is the way... you must be tried, do battle, and suffer if you are to acquire truth for yourself. It is a sheer illusion to think that in relation to truth there is an abridgment, a short cut that dispenses with the necessity of struggling for it."

A man who was afflicted with a terrible disease complained to Rabbi Israel that his suffering interfered with his learning and praying. The rabbi put his hand on his shoulder and said, “How do you know, friend, what is more pleasing to God - your studying or your suffering?” (Buber: Hasidim).

Note that the “inward being” (טֻחוֹת) refers to the “kidneys” which were thought to be “the reins” or the concealed (i.e., te’ach: טִיחַ) source of the will within the person. Interestingly, the word te’ach comes from the verb tachah (טָחָה) that means to “shoot with a bow,” alluding to the idea of inner Torah as a directive power. God wants purity of the heart – passion, singleheartedness, and earnestness – as we live and practice the truth. God wants “the inner parts,” the concealed parts of the soul, to be filled with his Torah, and therefore David asks God to make him to know wisdom there - in the “secret heart” - so that he might apprehend God’s truth and do teshuvah that purifies the heart.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

=========

Hebrew audio:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm51-6-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm51-6-lesson.pdf

11.2.23 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel 365:

We have all had the experience of praying fervently for something specific only to see our prayers rejected. It can seem to us that God is not even listening. Many people have a crisis of faith when they experience their prayers being “rejected.” But we must always remember what the Bible tells us:

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. – Psalm 145:18-19

King David, of course, was the beginning of the royal Davidic line that would ultimately produce the Messiah, the savior not only of Israel but of the entire world.

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

November 5, 2023

Lord of Hosts

“And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.” (1 Samuel 1:3)

This majestic name of God, “LORD of hosts” (Hebrew Jehovah Sabaoth), occurs almost 240 times in the Bible, first of all in our text above. It is noteworthy that Elkanah, the father of Samuel, understood this name of God better than did the wicked priests, the two sons of Eli. The name occurs only once in the New Testament, speaking of oppressed laborers crying to “the Lord of sabaoth” (James 5:4).

A similar name, “God of hosts,” occurs nine times, the first in Psalm 80:7: “Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” The combined name “LORD God of hosts” is used about 25 times, first in 2 Samuel 5:10: “And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.”

In all these 270 or so references, the name is used to emphasize the mighty power of God and His great host of angels “that excel in strength, that do his commandments” (Psalm 103:20). Not only is God Himself omnipotent and omniscient (after all, He is the Creator of all things!), but He has “an innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22) at His call. Occasionally, some of these mighty hosts have actually been seen by men, as in the days of Elisha (2 Kings 6:17) and at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:13).

There is evidently an angelic hierarchy among these heavenly hosts. There are the cherubim and seraphim (Genesis 3:24; Isaiah 6:2), for example, as well as “Michael the archangel” (Jude 1:9) and “Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19). However, the great “captain of the host of the LORD” (Joshua 5:14) is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He, and He alone, is the true “LORD of hosts.” HMM

[stpaullutheranchurch]

january 29 2023

2023 Epiphany 4, January 29th

Old Testament: Micah 6:1-8

Psalm: Psalm 15

Epistle: 1st Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon: Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon Text: 1st Corinthians 1:18-31

Sermon Title: “The Wisdom and Power of God”

Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“The Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God”. (1st Corinthians 1:18) “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles”. (1st Corinthians 1:23) “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong”. (1st Corinthians 1:27) “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”. (Matthew 5:10-12) These are a few of the key verses for our sermon theme this morning.

In the lectionary of the church (the recommended readings for each service) all but one of the readings each week seem to always go together; a similar topic or theme is fairly easily seen when the biblical texts are studied together. The one exception is that often the Epistle reading seems to be disconnected from the others. If you have noticed, generally, the Epistle readings are just continuous readings through a particular letter from one of the Apostles.

In today’s readings however, the connection between the Epistle and the Gospel are quite strong. Both readings speak of a godly (Christian) wisdom and a way of life; what Paul calls “the Word of the Cross”; (1st Corinthians 1:18) that the world does not (and cannot)  understand or accept. So, they call Christians naïve and foolish at best; for confessing and proclaiming Christ crucified; or worse, we are called bigoted, intolerant, and hateful for not affirming what God, in His Word, calls sin. (Just wear the pride shirt and keep your mouth shut, and everything will be fine.) Then there are the false teachers within the church, who by their denial of Christian/Biblical doctrines bring division in the church; as we heard last Sunday.

This “Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. (the means of our salvation) For it is written (by Isaiah the prophet) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning, I will thwart”. (1st Corinthians 1:18-19) This saying was addressed to the people in Isaiah’s day; The Lord said, “because this people draws near with their mouths and honors Me with their lips, while their heart is far from Me”. (Isaiah 29:13a)

So, the Apostle Paul asked, “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world”? (1st Corinthians 1:20) Here Paul rejects both the Jewish scribes and the Greek philosophers of his day and also the so-called wisdom (in reality, arrogance) of our own day; who deny, for example, the basic reality that there are not hundreds of genders, but only male and female, as God created them. “For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach (the Gospel) to save those who believe”. (1st Corinthians 1:21)

Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and its beginning with “the Beatitudes”, certainly contradict any wisdom of this world. “Jesus opened up His mouth and taught them saying; Blessed are the poor in spirit … blessed are those who mourn … blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness … blessed are the merciful … blessed are the pure in heart … blessed are the peacemakers … blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake … blessed are you, when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account”. (Matthew 5:2-11) There is not one iota, one bit of human wisdom in Jesus’ words here. Nothing Jesus says here is acceptable to the world.

Now, the Beatitudes which Jesus spoke are not giving us something to work and strive for so that we would be “comforted … inherit the earth … be satisfied … receive mercy … see God … be called sons of God … receive the Kingdom of Heaven”. (Matthew 5:4-10) These words of Jesus are also not the “Be Happy Attitudes”; designed to give us self esteem and make us feel good about ourselves, as a famous televangelist once claimed. These Beatitudes seem to the world to be contradictions and lies; but that is not the case; “it is impossible for God to lie”. (Hebrews 6:8) Instead, these Beatitudes speak of the realities of being a Christian in this world. All of these are (also) received from our Lord; good gifts of God’s grace in Christ Jesus.

Worldly wisdom cannot see these things as gifts or blessings from God; “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles; but to those who are called (to faith in Jesus) both Jews and Greeks, Christ (is) the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men”. (1st Corinthians 1:22-25) The very best that human religion, wisdom and philosophy has to offer us, is not even comparable to “the glory of God that is to be revealed to us”. (Romans 8:18b)

Now the Apostle gets a bit personal. He says to the Corinthians and to us, “Consider your calling … not many of you were wise according to worldly standards; not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth”. (1st Corinthians 1:26) This has generally been the case throughout the history of the church. There are always exceptions, but rarely do the worldly wise, wealthy, powerful and influential citizens want to associate with the type of people found in most churches.

Celsus, a Greek philosopher of the 1st Century, declared (dismissively) that Christianity only attracts the weak, the foolish, the dishonorable and the stupid; people like slaves, women and little children. Similar accusations/attacks are quite common in our day, sometimes from within the church, as those who take God’s Word and doctrine seriously are dismissed by others as being too outspoken.

Now it is true, that you and I are nothing on our own. God did not chose you or me because of something good in us, He has never chosen any people because of something good in them, but rather because of His own grace and mercy. Remember the words of Scripture regarding the people of Israel, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love upon you”. (Deuteronomy 7:7) God is not impressed by numbers the way we often are.

This is a great offence to proud human beings; like us. Nevertheless, it is true; which Paul now makes clear. “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God”. (1st Corinthians 1:27-29) “All such boasting is evil” (James 4:16b) according to the Apostle James. Instead of boasting, and worrying about our self-esteem, we are told in the Word, “not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, but to think with sober judgment”. (Romans 12:3b)

But from the cross, we who were nothing, have been transformed. “For you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption”. (1st Corinthians 1:30) This wisdom from God sees the Gospel, the message of the cross, as the means by which our sins have been atoned for. This righteousness from God was freely given to us in our baptism when we were baptized into Christ’s death. This sanctification from God is what the Holy Spirit works in us through the Gospel. This redemption from God is the means by which He freed us from our slavery to sin.

Therefore, Paul writes elsewhere, “In Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us … in Him we have an inheritance … in Him you also … when you believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”. (Ephesians 1:7-13)

“As it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1st Corinthians 1:31); therefore, all pride is excluded. “For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends”. (2nd Corinthians 10:18) The Lord, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, spoke similarly, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts, boast in this; that he understands and knows Me; that I am the Lord”. (Jeremiah 9:23-24a)

So, contrary to the what passes for wisdom in this world, the only thing worth boasting about, the only true wisdom to be found, is what God has done for us in Christ Jesus; in “the word of the cross, which is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God’. (1st Corinthians 1:18) Blessed therefore are “those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness” that only God can give; that we receive only by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. “Rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:12a) in the Lord and in His godly wisdom. Amen

The peace of God …

[silverose365]

Finally Home: Wolfstar x daughter

Summary: Y/n Lestrange finally has the family she knew she could have but never let herself hope for.

(I am so sorry if it’s bad but it’s 2 am and I haven’t slept in at least 24 hours)

Harry POV:

As I walk through the corridors I’m surprised to catch a glimpse of the Weasley twins huddled up with y/n as she pulls out notes for them shuffling closer I hear a small bit of their goodbye “remember to get them back to me I have to keep my grades up” while Fred hauls her in for a hug “hey what are you doing for Christmas Black?” I’m caught off by her frown, by her being called by my godfather's name, the way she looks at the ground “I don’t know the orphanage is full, I don’t wanna stay here while Umbrage is here maybe my uncle will get me a room at the leaky Coldren for that time”. As I sit at the fireplace my mouth gets the best of me “Fred what do you know about y/n Lestrange I heard you call her Black I know the two families are connected” he looks at me and I can see in his and George’s eyes the debate they have internally “I think you should ask Sirius about her or ask her yourself.” Fred replies as George picks up “she’s not a bad person rather nice”.

Y/n POV:

Lounging in my bed I smile softly down at my newest letter

Little Starlet,

Molly mentioned she received a letter that you were getting in arguments at school I wish you would inform me what they are about. I hope your year has been going satisfactorily thus far and that I got the right supplies for you. I know the last time I talked to the twins they indicated you don’t talk to many people other than them it makes me wonder why; you’re such a bright person you could make friends rather promptly despite your name! As always I look forward to hearing from you and furthermore if you ever desire to come home please tell me all you have to do is say the words. Remember you are a good person.

Love, Padfoot, and Moony

I smile fondly as I clear my tears I would never complain about all he has done for me I will never confess that my fights with Malfoy were over the new stuff I always had. I know it’s my uncle Sirius I didn’t at first of course in fact at first it wasn’t him directly due to Azkaban. It started as a bizarre man always checking the orphanage to see if I was still there at first I thought he would adopt me till I ultimately spoke to him one Mr. R Lupin he told me it wasn’t his place to adopt me but he was asked by a close friend to watch out for me and that I was safe. Then I got my letter from Hogwarts and every year brand new supplies were delivered to me I felt a delicate twinge of guilt as they were always signed with ‘Love, Moony and Pads’ whoever they were. School sucked I loved it but I was sorted into Slytherin that I despised I felt like I didn’t belong Mr. Lupin had become a pen pal by then he was the only one I told that I disliked my house he was the first to tell me to look at it more of a sign of my leadership instead of being evil as I had put it when he was the DADA teacher I was overjoyed although the year still sucked with whispered words about my uncle being an escape and that my mother would be next. That year uncle Remus became the few people I would talk to he told me how he was the Moony part of my stuff and acquainted me with the Weasley twins in desires I would come out of my shell which I did only with them though, and the black dog I came to love. I remember fondly of the year after dreadfully uncle Moony had resigned but if I snuck to the forbidden forest my dog would greet me I came to terms with the obvious name ‘dog’ foolish but it worked I remember telling him it was nice to know I wasn’t the only abandoned one in the world that’s when the letters started I was called all sorts of names little star, Black, starlet, even his pup but starlet became my favorite also pup I felt like it united us and it stuck. That was the year through the letter I learned Padfoot was Sirius and dog. He was my blessing in disguise he and Moony became my parent figures I know I can always tell him I wanna come to be with him and they would have me there is a second but I was great full as it was I didn’t wanna be a hassle they already did enough for me a lot I didn’t deserve.

Dear Padfoot and Moony,

Thank you for my school supplies I promise one day when I have built myself a fortune I will pay you both back gracefully. Don’t worry about my arguments they will die down I promise, as far as having friends I like only having the twins they are amazing and I know I can trust them. I don’t know how to repay you for taking care of me and I’m hesitant to ask this but I would appreciate a room at the leaky cauldron for Christmas the orphanage is filled up and I don’t wanna stay at school alone this year. If you can’t afford it please don’t feel like you have to I will be fine if I have to stay at school. I promise I will find a place before school is out so you won’t have to worry. As always thank you so much for all that you do for me!

Love, your Pup

Time skip

Harry POV:

I smile fondly as Sirius pulls me into a hug but am surprised to find Remus not present “where’s Remus?” Sirius smiles down at me “he is fetching my little pup”. Once we are sat on his couch I turn to him “you seem like you have something to say Harry what is it?” I look away to gather my thoughts “do you know y/n Lestrange?” To my surprise, his smile widens “ah my little pup she is my niece nothing like her mother. Tell me are you friends or have you let your thoughts cloud your judgment”. I feel my cheeks heat as I look to the floor “Malfoy accuses her of stealing I just assumed” he sighs “she doesn’t steal I give her new things all the time well Moony and I. She is as close to a daughter we have our starlet you and her are my pride and joy this year she will be with us for the holidays at last” with that he winks and walks out of the room as Ron and the twins join me.

Mean while elsewhere

Y/n POV:

I smile at the welcome break from the harsh cold outside “excuse me is there a room for y/n Lestrange?” The woman before me frowns towards me “sorry but no” I smile at her as I feel my eyes drop it’s ok I told them it was fine back to school I go. As I pull my hood back up I stop sharply locking eyes with Moony as he smiles “c’mere pup” I run to his warm hug “I missed you uncle Moony you didn’t have to come all the way he-“ it’s at this point I realize he has his wand out. As we land before Grimwald place I double over as I try to push my nauseous feeling away “deep breaths pup it’ll get better the more you breath” I feel moony’s hand rubbing delicate circles on my back. Once I feel my stomach ease I look up at one-half of my parent figures and glare a bit “a little warning would be nice” of course he laughs landing a kiss on my hairline as we walk towards the door. As soon as I enter I’m engulfed in Sirius’s arms “my little starlet I’m so glad you’re here as if I would let you spend another year lonely, and what’s this about paying me back I love to pamper you and Harry it’s what I live for” I smile softly “sorry Pad’s just a bit guilty feeling I guess”.

As we sit around the feast Mrs. Weasley made me smile at the warmth I feel as an owl flies in dropping a letter before me “what’s that?” Harry asks I shrug my shoulders “something from the ministry I dunno” he smiles at me “well open it!” I chuckle at his smile “Harry Potter do you always get so energetic for other people getting mail?” The table erupted with laughter as he blushes a bit. Taking a deep breath I open the letter “well what does it say?” The twins call together “all alright alright hold yer horses”. I look around to see all eyes on me last I realize everyone wants me to read it out loud “To whom it concerns...”

To whom it concerns,

A final agreement has been reached as to the final custody of Y/n Y/m/n Lestrange, apron Bellatrix Lestrange being stripped of her maternal rights due to imprisonments and neglect to keep tabs on her biological daughter she is no longer able to keep Miss. Lestrange from being adopted.

Furthermore as participating adults in said case has come forward with proof of all parties keeping in contact with and supporting one y/n Lastrange full costody of said witch has been granted to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. As of December 24th of this year Y/n Y/m/n Lastrange is now adopted by stated parties and as requested legal name has been changed to Y/f/n Y/m/n Lupin-Black

Signed, The Minister of Magic

The table erupts in applause and words of congratulations as in my surprised state I look to Remus “how” then to Sirius “when” finding myself cuddled with my adopted parents as I let my tears of joy fall “th- th- thank you! I love you both” they hold me closer “we love you too Pup always and forever” I close my eyes feeling at home finally.

[beyondspaceandstars]

While You Sleep

Chapter 13

Relationship: Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: sad. this chapter is sad. Summary: Soulmate!AU - Throughout life, you’re given glimpses of your soulmate through dreams. As you sleep, memories flash in your mind showing you the life your soulmate has lived. Everyone around you raves about how their soulmate reads great books or volunteers in their spare time. But you can’t relate as your dreams end up being more like nightmares. Through initial images of death and violence, you come to learn your soulmate is the Winter Soldier.

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

You were sitting at a stool in the compound’s kitchen when a familiar face walked in. Bucky had eventually explained to you that this was a sort of “headquarters” for the team. You felt a bit foolish having realized you never kept up much with these mighty heroes but you were eager to learn now. So far, you hadn’t encountered anyone you didn’t personally know on this famed team. Even now your eyes landed on the welcoming yet worried face of Steve.

“Morning,” you said, waving your fork before stabbing some of your scrambled eggs. Bucky had insisted on cooking for you despite your assurance you were fine but his cooking skills were....subpar. Still, nothing was inedible and you needed your strength back.

Steve reciprocated the greeting, saying your name with much excitement. “How are you feeling?” He added while making his way to the coffee pot. You chewed your eggs borderline viciously as you debated on an answer. 

“I’m okay.” You gave a shrug, staring down at your plate. Part of you wanted to let more out but you ignored it.

Steve came back around to the counter, standing on the other side across from you. He held his coffee cup firmly, nervously almost. You could feel him watching you. That excitement he had said your name with felt like it was evaporating from the room slowly.

“That’s… good,” Steve said. “If you need someone to talk to we have plenty of resources and - and I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

You peaked a glance at him, confused. You placed your fork on the counter. “Sorry? Why are you sorry?”

“I worry I led them right to you,” he explained, “like you two were separated for a reason.”

You frowned. You hadn’t thought about this - heck, you hadn’t thought about blaming anyone other than the disgusted men with such joyous evil looks in their eyes.

“Steve, I don’t think there was any way anyone could’ve prevented this.” You pushed your plate of food away. “They had their sights set. They had a plan, an optimism. It may have just been the soulmate experience in this case,” you sighed. Steve mumbled your name, shaking his head, but you continued, “And that’s fine. Love doesn’t come easy, right?”

“Being kidnapped is not part of being in love.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t have an ex-assassin for a soulmate.”

Steve’s jaw went slack. You were staring him down now, practically begging him to say one more thing. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Steve finally settled on. Ever the cool, calm, and collected star-spangled man. “You will recover and it’ll never happen again, we can promise you that.” His voice was serious as if every word ended with a period. You felt tears starting to well in your eyes. You wanted to say something, maybe ask for a hug or just… you didn’t know what, so you just sat there, slumped in your chair like a defeated puppy.

“Everything okay here?” A sudden voice made you jump. You and Steve turned towards the kitchen doorway where Bucky was standing, arms crossed, worry etched all over his face. It seemed to become his permanent expression now. Even when it was just you two, he always appeared on edge.

You nodded, turning back to collect your plate and take it to the sink. “We were just chatting.” You didn’t see the look you just knew Steve and Bucky were sharing.

When you turned back around to face the pair, Bucky had crossed the room, almost close enough to now be hovering over you. You flinched when he went to put a comforting hand on your shoulder. You didn’t know why as you clearly didn’t think he was a threat but hadn’t you seen how threatening he could be? You lowered your head, fighting off the thoughts. He wasn’t like that to you and he had proven it time and time again. Why was it suddenly different?

Before either of the men could comment on your sudden hesitation, you said, “I’m going to go take a shower.” They just nodded, letting you exit.

***

When you got out of the shower and back into the room the team had lent you and Bucky for the time being, Bucky was waiting patiently on the bed. You lingered around the space, picking out some pajamas to wear, acting as normal as you could. You took in the space, still amazed by it. It was fairly large with top-notch amenities, including a luscious bed, spacious dresser, and television from technology you weren’t sure existed for the general public. It even had access to your own grand bathroom, saving you some war flashbacks of the communal restrooms at college. 

You dipped back into the bathroom and got changed. While your intimacy with Bucky hadn’t been on the shy side, you weren’t in that kind of mood right now. Rightfully so, you would say.

Emerging once more, you noticed Bucky had made a sort of resting area for you on the bed. Your side was surrounded by blankets upon blankets and soft pillows. He even had a movie queued up for you two to watch. He laid waiting, his eyes practically begging you to come to him. After giving your hair a final wring, you gave in and crawled into the soft bed, letting all of you just melt into it.

“How are y-,”

“Bucky,” you sighed, turning towards him. He was laying on his side, staring down at your curled-up form. “Please don’t ask how I am.”

He nodded. “I get it, doll. I’m just worried about you. You seemed alright yesterday but today…” Yeah. You’d taken a dive. Your whole mood had shifted. Heck, your views on the world had shifted. As dramatic as it seemed, you were having a hard time snapping back. You weren’t even gone for over two days and yet the smallest thing...

“I think it’s just all settling in,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe it was just shock yesterday or something but realizing what all happened… Gosh, this probably seems so foolish to you.”

Bucky began shaking his head profusely. As gently as he could, he took your hand in his. You welcomed the action as you shifted under the makeshift mountain of blankets. “Don’t do that, honey. Don’t try to dismiss it or think what you’re feeling is foolish. You went through something so terrifying. You’re allowed to react to it.” He took a deep breath. “When we talked yesterday, I think I thought maybe they hadn’t gotten to you. That nothing had happened that would leave you torn up but you saw… a lot.”

You knew he wasn’t talking about just being exposed to Hydra and their twisted selves. “I did,” you hesitantly agreed. “And I fear it’s going to take a lot to recover.” Your words felt like you were delivering punch after punch to Bucky but where were you going to get if you weren’t honest?

“Anything you need, sweetheart,” he mumbled, his thumb drawing soft patterns on the back of your hand, sending shivers through you. “I’ll do anything to make it better.”

You nodded, averting your gaze to where your hands were connected. Your hand was so tense but you hadn’t even realized you were squeezing his. You relaxed it slightly and Bucky’s motions stopped.

“Bucky,” you mumbled, “can I ask you something?”

He hummed in response.

“What do I offer you?”

You could feel Bucky’s eyes staring you down. No doubt a concerned frown was playing on his lips. “What are you getting at here, honey?”

You shifted uncomfortably. “When I was… you know… the - the older man said that he didn’t understand why we would be paired together. They were determined to figure out what I offer you. What makes me so special.” A beat. “I really don’t know the answer.”

Bucky sighed, shaking his head. You glanced up at him again, his eyes now holding a different kind of anger. You felt bad for doubting yourself but the insecurity from the words of some random guy settled into your brain. 

After a thoughtful moment, Bucky spoke, “I don’t think you’ll ever fully understand what you give, not just to me, honey, but the world. You’re so fearless. You’re incredibly understanding. Not to mention how compassionate and bright you are…” His voice cracked slightly, breaking your heart a little. “You force me to remember that I’m not alone and I don’t have to be. And I just really hope I do the same for you.”

You could feel your own tears forming as you shifted just a bit closer to your soulmate. You weren’t quite touching but you could still feel his presence. It was as comfortable as you could get right now and Bucky seemed to respect that. 

“I hope I’ll be okay,” you confessed. “Eventually.” 

It quite amazed you how fast stuff could change within yourself. You woke up from being rescued with the more extravagant hopes and overwhelming relief of just making it out alive. But then you remembered the price of you making it out alive. What you had to witness to get there. And then the thoughts of actually being back in that position rushed over you. Needless to say, it was weird. Simply weird. Unlike anything you had encountered before. 

Bucky soon nodded, encouragingly. You hated putting anything else on him but he had become part of the memories now. It was one thing to see him in dreams and another to watch it just feet away from you. 

With a choking sob, he said, “Me too, doll.”

[dereksmcgrath]

I had said before that the number 108 can be unlucky. It wasn’t unlucky at all for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. But 108 is kind of unlucky for this episode: not only are we focusing on the Villains, but we just aren’t giving their story the structure and emotional weight it deserves.

(I either opened with those remarks or just made a bunch of corny jokes about how “Meta Liberation Army” can be abbreviated as MLA--and I’m saving those jokes for a future review.)

“My Villain Academia,” My Hero Academia Episode 108 (Season 5, Episode 20)

An adaptation of Chapters 220, 221, 222, 223, and 224 of the manga, by Kohei Horikoshi, translated by Caleb Cook with lettering by John Hunt and available from Viz.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Spoilers up to My Hero Academia Chapter 325.

When I teach literature, I refer to the plot as a problem: it is something that the protagonist is trying to solve. This problem can take various forms, but it is often as an antagonist that the protagonist confronts. When this episode has the Doctor refer to a “villain” as someone “who turns nonsense into action,” that’s kind of the point: the villain is here to get the plot rolling. Without them, you don’t have a hero, you don’t have a story.

It has been long accepted by a lot of fans and scholars that superheroes tend to uphold the status quo. I think the first time I gained awareness of this popular argument--although likely not the first time I encountered it--was Dr. Horrible’s mangled remark that “the status is not quo.” More recently, however, I have been reading academic books on superheroes, and not only does that argument persist--that superheroes represent law, order, and upholding traditional norms even in the face of new evidence or out of sheer obliviousness to the need for systemic change--but the argument has become that, if a superhero story does not have the heroes doing something to effect systemic change, then it’s not a good story. I may be misunderstanding that argument, but if I don’t, then it’s not an argument I can stand behind.

The argument is that superhero stories tend to reduce complex issues to having avatars for each side of the issue--the good guy and the bad guy--get into a fight, where we are focused on the spectacle rather than on seeing actual people engaging in the actual work needed to address problems not on the individual level--again, one good guy physically fighting one bad guy--but on a larger scope.

I am oversimplifying this argument, as even those same scholars will point out that, initially, of course there were superhero stories that had the protagonist taking the fight against the system. Superman is one of the ones named most frequently, whether in his initial comic book premiere doing what police and media would not to face down a corrupt senator (a sign of things to come in his later fights with Luthor and in Justice League Unlimited) or fighting the Klan (in the meta sense, fighting their analogue on the radio show and, more recently, literally in the comics). It kind of makes Superman look like one influence on the Peerless Thief in My Hero Academia, but we’ll get to him far later in these episodic reviews.

Even with that exception of Superman, it’s not hard for me to agree with the argument that heroes prop up the status quo. That has been the plot point for My Hero Academia and why this war against the villains has been incoming: a system that depended on just All Might, now depending on a wife-beating abusive father like Endeavor with his crimes not popularly known, has a level of corruption that cannot stand up with just one man’s shining example of honest goodness and integrity to be the Symbol of Peace. It was why I appreciated the manga eventually showing that, yes, there was an entire network of assassins within the Hero Public Safety Commission to keep All Might’s hands clean--and, in retrospect, while Lady Nagant was our first named example, given what Hawks ends up doing to Twice, deadly force may be frowned upon by law in MHA but has to have been something Hawks was told he had legal authority to do. (Also, as I will never stop pointing out, Endeavor unintentionally and unknowingly killed another Pro Hero in Vigilantes, and we’re just supposed to pretend that was fine.)

But going back to this academic argument, about how superhero stories tend to stick to one-on-one battles and don’t let the heroes effect systematic change, I’m ambivalent. There have been a range of superhero or superhero-adjacent stories that have the protagonist making on-page, on-screen, obvious work to not just get into fisticuffs with the bad guy. I already pointed out Superman’s first appearance and his fight against the Klan. I can also identify other examples, some hamfisted like Captain Planet, others more nuanced like Korra reaching out to Kuvira in The Legend of Korra. While the scholarship I read bristles at the idea of reducing these fights to just avatars for good and evil, I shrug and say that kind of comes with the territory of a superhero story. I hate justifying tropes: it’s like saying “this fanservice is acceptable because that’s part of the genre”--which leads to its own set of problems, especially when I hear fools defending sexualized fanservice that is just not needed for the story and is abusive by gender and representation. Heck, The Brave and the Bold animated series had Equinox and Batman battle as giants representing the avatars of chaos and order--which is confusing enough, with Equinox having a vaguely yin-yang motif that debunks any clean separation between chaos and order. And yet, here I am, arguing that this kind of fanservice of a hero and a villain beating each other up is to be expected: you have a debate about ideals of what a hero should do when you see Iron Man and Captain America each representing a side in a fight, whether the poorly handled comic book Civil War or the better film version, and even then, that film also lets the individual personalities get in the way of saying anything meaningful about government oversight and individual agency, ideas better handled in that other Captain America film, The Winter Soldier, and even then that film also gets stuck in just being about Steve and Bucky’s relationship.

All of this is me saying that, when you add a superhero to the fight, you’re going to feel disappointed that almost nothing systematically changes in its setting, not only because, as I’m hinting, these are stories about individuals fighting each other and not stories about the individual against society or nature, but also because a superhero can only change so much of their world for the better before that world no longer looks like our own or a new societal problem has to emerge to create the problem that is the plot itself for wherever the story goes next. Once a hero makes the setting into a utopia, either a new problem emerges to show the fiction of that story and that a dystopia is always married to a utopia, or the utopia is revealed to be hollow (Shigaraki’s word of the day) and fake. My Hero Academia already showed the utopia of a world where people get to live with their Quirks is fake, not only by (largely necessary) regulation of those Quirks but also, as we’ll see more with Spinner, Compress, Toga, Gigantomachia, and others, looking different, or being socially aware, or having disabilities, or being the “wrong” size, excluded you from that society.

What I’m trying to say is that, once you add superheroes into a story to fix the problem, you can’t show what systematic change looks like. How do you write a story where it makes sense that no hero came to save Tenko Shimura from becoming Tomura Shigaraki? What’s a story like My Hero Academia supposed to do to show the problems with a society, if you have superheroes who can fix those problems by beating up the bad guys?

Solution: You have the bad guys beat each other up.

In this corner, the League of Villains, people who were made outcasts because they did not fit in--which reveals the flaws of a society that is not accepting people who may not be able to change their past or their bodily conditions.

And in this corner, the Meta Liberation Army--which reveals how society breeds people in business, media, and politics who abuse laws and societal norms to elevate themselves and create a social Darwinist nightmare.

Granted, these are some foolish schmucks for starting up this fight in public, but I’ll address how the MLA just doesn’t work in a later episode review.

But for now, let the fight begin. No matter who wins, at least we see how society at large allowed these Villains to emerge--and we can either see All For One’s dictatorial forces get wrecked, or see Re-Destro’s fascistic oafs get wrecked.

Unfortunately, no matter who wins, the Pro Heroes are going to lose, too.

I am overly impressed with myself for realizing all of this. And I say “overly” not only because this is arrogant of me but also because I’m pretty sure just about every other person following this series already came to this conclusion: if you want to show actual systematic change, you have to show what the villains are up to, because they are the ones showing the holes in our society that need to be fixed. Either a villain exploits those holes to cause damage to people, or the villain is themselves representative of unfairness in the system and, by breaking the law to save themselves and others, are unfairly maligned as villains.

That being said, I’m not a big fan of the “[Insert villain’s name here] was right” arguments. Yes, Magneto is justified in his goals and ethics, and the debate is the means he takes to them, so his existence is to show why the X-Men are screwing up and need to be more radical. Yes, Killmonger is right that Wakanda’s isolationism is reckless and allows for travesties to persist, but his choices are largely out of individual desire for vengeance, so he’s an example that T’Challa can follow. Taken too far, though, and you get people who preach anti-establishment notions without having an alternative or are just trying to sound edgy rather than actually pointing to the actual problem: it’s someone who celebrates the Joker without recognizing that, no, you don’t want to be that asshole, or who celebrate villain-turned-hero Vegeta just because he looks cool and without appreciating what steps he took to change and what fall he experienced before he got to the point of being a villain.

In all these cases, if done poorly, you have the same tired trend of a villain existing only so long so that the hero changes for the better. It’s as tiresome as I unfortunately sometimes feel reading post after post celebrating how complex and sympathetic the League of Villains’ members can be when, still, a lot of them are just assholes using empty excuses to defend atrocious behavior (primarily, just All for One) or, for the most part, are people put into desperate situations (Shigaraki, Toga, Spinner, Dabi, Twice) who are doing the best they can (Twice, Spinner) even if their actions are not defensible (Toga) or also out of line (Shigaraki) due to their own refusal to seek the legitimate help they need to work through their issues (Dabi).

It’s hard to read posts online calling the League members sympathetic when we have not had a chance in the anime to know their full story. And as with the slow revelation that this setting is not really as welcoming of people of all shapes and sizes as initially hinted, so too do the villains’ backstories show that they were justified in some actions they took, except for those that led to deaths. Too bad none of that really pops up in a meaningful way in this episode that would rather tease out Shigaraki’s back story, keep dangling the obvious answer to who Dabi really is, and short-sells what should be a meaningful friendship between Twice and Giran but is just dropped as fast as Shigaraki takes off Twice’s mask. Jeez, Shigaraki, that is a dick move to Twice…

But I’m already on Page 4 of this rant, so let’s get to the episode already.

Pulling back the curtain yet again, these reviews tend to follow a pattern. Since I first wrote about the MHA anime, my process would be to first re-read the chapters, then watch the episode in Japanese, then watch the episode in English, so as to retrace my steps in how I first encountered most of these stories, as well as to see any patterns in the production process moving from manga to anime to localization. But with this episode, that practice was made nearly impossible given how prevalent the hostility towards this episode, this arc, and this season have been, especially when a friend shared numerous reactions from other viewers about this episode. Seriously, for all the whining I just did the previous four pages, you could read this person or this person who are much better at explaining why the introduction of Re-Destro to the anime sucks, for more than one reason.

So, I had a different approach: I already had the flaws to this episode shared with me by other viewers, then I listened to the English dub, then I re-read the chapters, then I watched the Japanese dub with English subtitles.

And, boy, am I grateful I took that approach, because this episode is a ton of talking--too much talking. For an anime adaptation that cut so much of Spinner’s Leonardo from Ninja Turtles narration, I’m shocked that they kept the boring parts of his narration and cut the only good parts, including the very opening that had a lot more action and gave us a reason to sympathize with these Villains.

I know I’m a snob regarding animation; I have expressed before how, despite my love for animated works, I tend to appreciate them more for what they do with storytelling rather than the spectacle of the visuals. I really dislike works where the value of the work is in the animation alone: I am here to see a story unfold, and if there is no narrative, no plot, no beginning-middle-and-end, then what I’m encountering is a museum piece, not a work of cinema. (Feel free to bash me for that hot take: I’m still railing against Patty Jenkins’s ridiculous argument from this week.)

And as with most forms of karmic punishment I experience, I pay the price: if I rail long enough about works that are only all about the animation and not the story, then my punishment is an episode where all we get is a lot of story and not much in the way of animation. Yet I can’t even say we got a story here, so much as back story, exposition, needless narration--it’s Blade Runner only bad. As much as I have loved how this anime’s storyboards stick so close to the manga panels, the pan over the League listening to Shigaraki’s vague back story felt like the least interesting way to handle this scene, especially when it excises so much of Spinner coming around from questioning Shigaraki to sympathizing with him. Who would have imagined cutting so much of Spinner’s initial narration and the opening from Chapter 220 would screw up how to adapt Shigaraki’s back story from Chapter 222.

The anime cuts how this arc begins in the manga: Chapter 220 starts with Spinner facing off against an extremist group that hates him for his reptilian appearance--a moment that would have garnered more sympathy from the audience for these Villains than this episode is exhorting. We needed a scene to get behind these villains and agree with them, before we are shocked to hear Shigaraki say what we have long expected, that he just wants to destroy everything and make everyone as miserable as he has felt, to wake us up that, no, you may sympathize with these outcasts (to use Twice’s one-word self-description), but you shouldn’t agree with Shigaraki’s goals. (I know Shigaraki relents somewhat when asked by Toga, but it’s hard to backtrack from “destroy it all” to “destroy it all but not the stuff my friends like.” How on Earth is Shigaraki going to destroy Izuku when Spinner somewhat admires the guy and Toga...well, yeah, best left unsaid.)

While watching this episode, I also was reviewing other topics about anime and manga I’m going to go into more detail about later this month, and one topic of discussion is the assumption that anime and manga, by their visual style and story tropes, especially shojo and shonen, tend to be about big expressions--emotional outpours in words, movements, facial expressions, and actions to more easily communicate what is happening, regardless of context.

I hate to keep repeating “ambivalent” in my reviews (another academic word I need to expunge from my lexicon for a bit), but I’m ambivalent about that argument, that anime and manga, especially shojo and shonen, are better at communicating. If your character is unreadable, that likely has an intentional reason: we don’t get much of a read on the Doctor in this episode, not helped by his mustache and glasses, but we also don’t get a read on what Shigaraki is up to.

This episode only heightens my regard, not just about anime, manga, shojo, or shonen, but in animation and comics at large, that not everything is readable in what a character is planning.

On the one hand, I do agree that visual works tend to make ideas easier to comprehend for some people who can engage with such visual works. As someone who teaches English literature and writing in a United States setting, I use comics in my teaching to cross language and cultural barriers, especially for students for whom English is not their primary language or who are the first in their family raised in the United States. And this teaching approach also helps in reverse: I include manga and anime in my teaching to show how not all details cross language and cultural barriers in a one-to-one correspondence, hence the challenges of translation and localization, and how all of us struggle to make ourselves understood within our own primary language to someone else who is fluent in that language, let alone trying to translate into another language or to present ourselves in a different set of cultural norms.

On the other hand, anime and manga are not a fixed genre. Yes, I agree that the images tend to emphasize big eyes, big expressions, and big motions--but that’s like saying all animation is Looney Tunes, or all animation is Disney, or is Dragon Ball, and so on. Likewise, as I’ve discussed elsewhere, shonen is more than just one type of storytelling, and the same goes for shojo. This arc of My Hero Academia is placing focus, after admittedly far too long, on the Villains as the protagonists--and their behavior pokes holes in the idea that things are obvious, when the Villains are themselves such liars, so crafty, have their own hidden agendas, are keeping secrets from each other. It’s as if their behavior is a commentary on this plot and how BONES is adapting it: the Villains are keeping secrets, so this plot is going to keep its secrets for just who Re-Destro and the Meta Liberation Army are, what their personalities are like, and what Shigaraki and the Doctor have in mind for getting what he wants. We’re even kept in the dark as to Shigaraki’s full back story; we’re in the same position he is, knowing just little bits and able to make assumptions from a handful of visual cues and memories, without fully knowing who the hell Tenko is. Add to that Spinner’s struggles to narrate all of this and to get into Toga’s mind and Shigaraki’s mind, as well as Dabi’s own secrets and agenda with Hawks, and we have a story that blows up the notion that anime and manga are easier for reading a character’s mindset: no, they are not always easier, not when the creators deliberately mislead the audience or keep them in the dark for a surprise.

By keeping so much of the audience in the dark, so that we become aware of how deceitful villains can be, and we are put into Shigaraki’s place of not knowing where he came from. This should be a set of brilliant choices by BONES to adapt this arc in this manner. But the problem is, no, almost none of this gets anywhere close to brilliant. It’s not brilliant--it’s frustrating, because we already know what is going to happen. You can just pull up the manga at low cost with a Viz account and read all of this in the order it was originally presented and get the answers ahead of time. And if you’ve been reading the manga all along, you already know how this arc ends, and you know stuff from the next set of arcs so that you do know already what Shigaraki’s back story is, what Dabi was really up to, who survives, who dies. You even learn more about Compress’s back story--stuff that really should have been hinted at much earlier in the manga, and could have been hinted in this adaptation but as of this episode has not.

Maybe that is why the anime removes Re-Destro murdering his assistant: it’s such an odd moment that it is challenging for me to get a read on Re-Destro, as he alternates in the manga between being very friendly and devoted to his comrades but also violent and heartless.

It may be obvious that I didn’t like much of this episode. I think when I stopped taking this episode seriously was when I heard the voices. Like I said, I tend to start with the Japanese dub first before getting to the English dub. And I have nothing at all against English dubs: I would not be listening to them as much as I have, often first before I ever hear the Japanese, and I would not be a fan of so many English-speaking actors in dubs if I had any animosity to the craft, their work, and the benefit they provide for creating a larger audience for these stories. And nothing against Larry Brantley and Sonny Strait, but some of this casting feels off. I wasn’t able to take this episode seriously as soon as I heard the voice distortion that was used for Re-Destro’s phone call: that took me out of the story. If I had the chance for localization, I would really need Twice or someone to call out how freaking ridiculous that Mickey Mouse voice sounded. You have freaking Sonny Strait here: use the Krillin voice, use the Chibi Ragnarok voice, use the Usopp voice--use something, really go bizarre here, it’s just a voice distortion device! And as I said, nothing against Strait, but when I hear Re-Destro when I read the manga, that’s not the voice I have in mind. For right now, HIroaki Hirata in the Japanese dub is closer to that smoothness I expected for this character. But I have no doubt Strait will do excellent as Re-Destro’s empowered form: think Strait’s role in The Intruder II from Toonami. It’s just that Re-Destro in the English dub is lacking that odd refinement I was expecting.

Granted, it’s the same problem for me when I hear Brantley as Spinner: I am making unfair assumptions that don’t suit the goals of the creators when it comes to this character. It is sadly not as obvious in this episode as it is in the manga: this arc in the manga starts with Horikoshi invoking Laird and Eastman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by having Spinner, who is already a sword-wielding reptilian martial artist, narrating just like how Leonardo narrating at the beginning of the very first issue of TMNT. I wanted a voice for the English dub that is like Leonardo’s, a little higher pitch and more youthful, like what Brian Tochi brought in the live-action Turtles film or what Cam Clarke and Michael Sinterniklaas bring in the animated versions. I think, for the Japanese dub, Ryo Iwasaki’s performance as Spinner is very close to what I expected. But that also may seem too obvious: Spinner may be young, but giving him an older-sounding voice can belie his inexperience, youthfulness, and naivete, similar to how people make assumptions about him by his reptilian appearance. The anime is putting me into my place--I think of Spinner one way other than who he really is, so I’m no better than the people around him who have discriminated against him for his physical appearance.

Just as I have a set of assumptions that unfairly influence how I would cast Spinner, I also think Re-Destro should have sounded more refined and less graveley in the English dub. But my expectations belie that, just the Joker whom he resembles, Re-Destro puts on this cultured facade to hide that he is just another violent gangster thug, someone who would kill his own assistant. I know I cited examples above about how complex Re-Destro is, but it’s hard for me to see him as sympathetic just because he’s crying over something he did out of his own volition: he coldly killed his office assistant Miyashita, his tears and kind words don’t suddenly make this a warm and cuddly death, we don’t get to think of him as our woobie. It only makes it more irritating that BONES so far has cut not only that scene of Re-Destro killing Miyashita but also Re-Destro’s TV commercial: it would clue us in that the reason he has that gravelly voice is because, no matter how much he tries to present himself on TV, he is not that kind of a man.

But since I invoked the Joker comparison to Re-Destro, yeah, I’m disappointed we didn’t get Troy Baker as Re-Destro, as unlikely as I imagine that would be to happen, regardless of Baker’s previous work with Funimation. It does lend a bit more to conspiracy theories on my part, though, given casting director Colleen Clinkenbeard telling Twitter followers to stop expecting Mark Hamill in MHA, it’s never happening--we can’t even get Troy Baker doing his Mark Hamill Joker.

(I’m not being fair to Baker: I’m not saying his Joker is at all bad--it is not, he has been excellent as Joker, especially playing him and Batman in the Ninja Turtles crossover film, but it is obvious Baker is performing the kind of Joker that came out of Hamill, so I’m trying to say he’s doing the “Hamill Joker,” rather than the “Nicholson Joker,” the “Ledger Joker,” or the “Caesar Romero Joker”).

It’s also a challenge to sympathize with these characters when we aren’t getting what this arc should give them: a re-introduction. I hate approaching this episode in a post-James Gunn The Suicide Squad world, but seeing how much MHA owes to not The Suicide Squad of the comics but that motif in so many superhero comics, there is that missed opportunity to reacquaint the audience with who are the members of the League of Villains. So, where the hell is my freeze-frame re-introduction to each League member? There was that fan theory a long time ago that Giran was really Present Mic in disguise: imagine doing Present Mic’s introduction of characters by name, Quirk, and pithy comment, only it’s Giran in the announcer seat this time.

(Don’t even get me started on how annoying it is to have Izuku handling the post-credit preview: give that to Spinner.)

Again, maybe it is brilliant for BONES not to include some re-introduction scenes, whether narrated by Giran or happening naturally in conversation between these characters. These Villains barely know each other’s back story, so there’s no artifice where they would believably share their back stories to each other in conversation in this context. And as I said, Shigaraki does not know enough about his own past, and Dabi is hiding his real identity. But when we’re stuck with Spinner as our half-hearted narrator, who seems not to know why he and Toga are still here with Stain being gone, and when Toga is this dull in her answer about what keeps her going after Stain’s arrest, and when Spinner himself seems not to know what he’s still doing here, all of that does not communicate a reason for us to keep going with this story.

I know this arc is going to get better, storywise at least, just based on how it went in the manga. I can only hope that the animation can capture the chaos that the original manga illustrations showed. But I am trying to think what a new viewer is going to do if this is their introduction to this series. I’m not invoking the Episode 7 Rule, I’m not doing a hypothetical experiment to gauge which episodes are the best to bring a newbie into this series--I am asking, honestly, if a fan was already into this series, and was watching it one Saturday morning, and a friend or roommate or relative saw them watching, they would be utterly lost about why they should care about this. Even the explanation for why Twice is indebted to Giran is presented as such an afterthought that does disservice to a potentially emotional moment, to what is supposed to be a pretty deep friendship, as deep as it can be for a weapons trader like Giran and an outcast-turned-criminal like Twice, so that, when Twice helps rescue Giran, we feel that emotional payoff.

It is honestly shocking that, for all the throwbacks, recaps, and flashbacks we get, including how Giran’s fingers match up to previous places where the League fought, that this still leaves a new viewer in the dark. And the problem lies at the feet of MHA arriving at a fifth-season slump: the series has gone on so long that things feel lazy and making far too many assumptions on what knowledge the audience is bringing. You’re not getting a bigger audience if you keep appealing to the diehard fans and the people reading the manga. After all, why would you keep doing ridiculous recaps and flashbacks if the fans already know what happened?

But speaking of the recaps and flashbacks, that should have been how this episode redeemed itself. As I said last time, if you re-worked the order of episodes to start with the Oboro Shirakumo story, that would be more shocking. But what if this episode could have been the very first episode of the season, and following the trend of previous seasons, make it a recap episode? We already had Izuku narrating a clip show, Class 1A at the pool, a photojournalist visiting the UA Dorms--it would be so much more interesting seeing “League of Villains camping in the woods while in the background Shigaraki gets squished by a giant.” Have the Villains tell campfire stories about how they got here: it would be a great excuse to re-use the animation and save on the budget. You could fit in a few gags, as Toga starts telling a really gruesome story but gets distracted by all the blood in it, while Twice’s story bounces between sugar-sweet happy and grim-and-dark chaos, while Compress and Spinner are stuck trying to keep them focused. It’d be a hell of a lot more interesting than how BONES somehow screwed up a potentially emotional volatile moment between Izuku and Amajiki that would put into question whether Izuku is going to have to kill a Villain and just how devastated Amajiki feels after Mirio lost his Quirk.

And speaking of whether Izuku is going to have to kill a Villain: obviously, this arc is setting up how much more dangerous Shigaraki is than UA gave him credit. Back in Season 2, I hated how Nezu and UA staff referred to him as a “man-child,” given the connotations that have surrounded masculinity and being a man. I wrote that before 2016; in this post-2016 atmosphere, and the increased prevalence of toxic masculinity, I am, once again, that annoying word ambivalent. I am likewise ambivalent how well this series has shown Shigaraki to be able to form the plan he does by episode’s end. We’re only told by Spinner how much faster Shigaraki is getting and how much slower Gigantomachia has become--but the animation doesn’t show that. And we’re being told how great Shigaraki’s plan is--when it sounds ridiculous.

By cutting so much of Spinner’s narration from the manga, we also don’t get a scene where Spinner confronts Shigaraki to ask him what is his plan. Up to that point, Shigaraki has said that, with Kurogiri gone over the last month and the computers at the old League hideout destroyed, they can’t reach the Doctor. Spinner is insistent: what is the plan? Shigaraki responds that he just told them--as Gigantomachia crashes through their hideout. The other characters explain for readers like me who aren’t following: Shigaraki just said Kurogiri was gone; to contact the Doctor, Kurogiri sought Gigantomachia; Gigantomachia would sniff out where Shigaraki is and bring him to the Doctor. Brilliant--that shows more attention to Shigaraki’s planning and scheming, and now, it’s not even here in the episode to make me think this guy is that smart. (This episode also had Shigaraki reveal his plan to have Gigantomachia attack the MLA, whereas it was Spinner who predicted that was going to be Shigaraki’s plan--so, again, we’re not letting Spinner stand out as smarter than we expected, either.)

I know Shigaraki is supposed to be our chessmaster, given his association with gaming, especially when he was faking his ignorance about shogi to lower Overhaul’s guard before defeating him and stealing his Quirk-cancelling bullets. But I’m having the same problem I had when following All For One throughout this anime: it just feels like these two antagonists are getting ahead out of sheer luck and because everyone else is a fool, not because either of them are that great as villains. Give me a Xanatos, give me a Luthor, give me a Norman Osborne (not Clone Saga Osborne, a different one). Show me Shigaraki is more than a pawn for All For One and the Doctor, because I don’t feel anything here, not even when we’re supposed to feel that Shigaraki has some legitimate concern for All For One that just isn’t getting communicated to me, whether by my stubbornness or because the content is not giving the animators and actors what they deserve. Eric Vale can sell the hell out of a scene, but Shigaraki’s talk about All For One is not giving that opportunity to the actor.

My remarks this time are a lot more disorganized and doesn’t really arrive at any conclusion. I have more to say about how this arc works and doesn’t work, especially when it comes to how ridiculous the MLA comes across in underestimating the League, but we’ll get to that next time.

[jaymesdoodles]

I think people are really missing c!ranboo's motivations right now. I've seen on here and on twitter where people think he's just fulling going on c!wilbur's side, or he's just on Wilbur's side to get information or c!wilbur is manipulating him on to his side, etc.

That's the thing. C!ranboo isn't stupid and isn't gullible. Ranboo does want to be there for wilbur. He wants to genuinely be friends with him, but that's doesn't mean he trust him. The first day wilbur came back he talked about how he hopefully changed. He didn't know the full extent to what he did but he knew he blew up l'manburg and didn't treat c!tubbo or c!tommy the best. He knew he wasn't a great person but he was hopefull that because he was in limbo for so long, he changed. He didn't trust him but he hope that he would redeem himself.

C!ranboo planned to have debates with him because he knew wilbur used to that. The same stream he decided to ask The Council (a group of enderman, can be an any place) if they would watch over wilbur, keep an eye on him. He wanted to see what he would do. He wanted to know if he could trust wilbur.

The Council hasn't seen anything, so ranboo right now has no reason not to trust wilbur But that doesn't mean he fully does yet. ranboo is most likely working with wilbur because he wants to see turn into that better person. Hes listening to him, talking to him and just being there because he does care and he does genuinely relates to him. (I mean just listen to one of c!ranboo's monologues). Hes still keeping his distance tho. Ranboo hinds a lot more shit then people might understand.

Ranboo genuinely cares for his family so much. He would do Anything and Everything to protect them. He has threatened people for the first time because of them. He threatened to start wars for Michael. He acted as a shield for c!Tubbo. He makes tubbo armor and visits his son often. He cares about them and loves them, more then anything. He isn't going to drop that because of a man he's never really meant.

So Ranboo isn't fully just ditching Tubbo right now but that doesn't mean he's doing this because he's just gaining information from Wilbur either. He's not lying to Wilbur about his relationship with tubbo because he thinks he's evil but because he doesn't know him well enough. Ranboo didn't say his opinion on c!dream (that other stream) bc he knows Wilbur's. It's very similar to how he teamed up with the Syndicate because he knew he didn't always have to go and because he genuinely believes in an anarchy but one of the main reasons was to protect his family. He wants to find any way to protect them. He will. Lying, hiding, violence and peace. He will do it all.

Ranboo is a massive hypocrite, he's a people pleaser, and he doesn't always understand the arguments people have and how they can't get along or co-exist. A big reason for these things is because he's not human (said in the stream he did with slimecicle.) And that's sadly to his detriment. He hides his cards more then wilbur does. He's seen as this kid that got everything and seems nice. He wears a mask of his own face. One can't remember stuff, hides everything (even from his own husband), walks around trying to get on everyone's good side, tries to see people instead of labels like "the syndicate, dream smp, las nevadas, paradise and snowchester, etc" but as another one that's his true face. One that has all his memories, knows more about being an enderman and his other half, knows about the 4th book, has been in cahoots with c!dream for whatever reason and made a deal with foolish but still is all those other things. Good and Bad.

Ranboo's character is messy. He gets into everyone's business, even when they don't want him too. No one character fully understands c!Ranboo, not even himself. His intentions are unclear and they get super muddied when you bring in the enderwalk or even the phrase "people not sides." The only thing we know for certain are the things that cc!ranboo has told us and what c!ranboo has done and said.

So Ranboo cares about his family more then anything but also wants to understand Wilbur. That's what gets ranboo into these messy situations. I have a feeling all these things hes gotten himself into, all these stings that he's tied to himself, are really about to start knotting. Where will that leave Ranboo and his relationships in the end of it all?? Well we'll just have to see.